Didi's Delhi gamble

With no other political leader raring to go against Modi, Mamata sensed an opportunity to plunge into the national scene and maybe emerge as a pan-India saviour of the common man.

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Romita Datta

December 15, 2016

ISSUE DATE: December 26, 2016

UPDATED: December 18, 2016 10:48 IST

Mamata Banerjee leads a Trinamool Congress rally against demonetisation in Kolkata on November 28

It was prime time on the night of November 8. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had made a long televised appearance, proclaiming sudden death for Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 denomination notes, leaving the nation stunned and many questions regarding his black money purge unanswered. Elsewhere, Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Derek O'Brien, who was disembarking from a plane, got a text message from his boss, Mamata Banerjee. O'Brien, who handles Mamata's Twitter account, worriedly sat down on his aircraft seat and immersed himself in a phone frenzy. Soon, a Mamata tweet flashed: "Withdraw this draconian decision." Seven more followed, directing her ire at the "heartless and ill-conceived" demonetisation, empathising with the "poorest brothers and sisters, who earned their wages in 500 rupee notes", and worrying about how they would buy daily need items.

That was the start. Over the past one month, a name that has consistently grabbed headlines along with Modi and his demonetisation drive is Mamata's. Since the currency ban, she has wasted no time in lunging at any opportunity to project herself as the most vocal critic of the move among Opposition leaders, and at playing messiah to the masses. Mamata was quick to get on social media and demand a rollback of demonetisation-even as the likes of Nitish Kumar and Mulayam Singh Yadav reserved comment initially and the Congress and the Left floundered for the 'right' response. By November 12, Mamata had hit the streets-a surprise visit to an ATM on Kolkata's Hazra Road to gauge the public mood, followed by rounds to the city's RBI office and Burrabazar.

As the demonetisation demon played havoc, with the queues at ATMs growing longer, daily wagers losing jobs and chaos gripping the countryside, Mamata sought to assume the proverbial role of its slayer. In her bid to make common cause with diehard Modi-baiters such as Arvind Kejriwal and even political rivals-she dialled the CPI(M)'s Sitaram Yechury for a joint protest against demonetisation-many see an attempt to cobble together divergent forces in the Opposition and build an alternative national anti-BJP platform. "Who else is there (to do it)?" asks TMC MP Sukhendu Shekhar Ray. "Jayalalithaa is no more. Mulayam Singh Yadav's house is divided. Lalu Yadav and Nitish Kumar are fighting among themselves. Naveen Patnaik is not interested in anything outside Odisha."

Mamata's equation with Modi has almost always been hostile-except for a few months in 2015, when the CBI was breathing down her neck in the Saradha scam probe and she retreated-and both have used some choice words to describe the other (see box: War of Words). For her, demonetisation was fresh ammo against an old adversary; her tirade against Modi and demonetisation was also in sync with her party's grassroots positioning of ma, maati, manush (mother, motherland and the people). "Taking up this issue will resonate all over the country, across regional sentiments," says a TMC minister from Bengal, requesting anonymity. "With no other political leader raring to go against Modi, Mamata sensed a big opportunity to plunge into the national scene and maybe emerge as a pan-India saviour of the common man."

Mamata had once said she wouldn't mind a bigger role in politics if her Opposition colleagues so desired. In May 2016, after a landslide return to a second term in office in Bengal, she had invited regional party leaders to her swearing-in ceremony and pitched for an alternative secular front. Now, in her Bharat Yatra and rallies in Bihar and Lucknow against the currency ban, Mamata comes across as a politician ready to spread her wings. "Mamata is known to be fiercely ambitious and she has a streak of [desiring] upward political mobility," says Biswanath Chakraborty, associate professor, psephological studies, Rabindra Bharati University, Kolkata. "Now that she stands unchallenged in state politics, she seems to harbour national aspirations and is perhaps eyeing the topmost post."

Sovanlal Dutta Gupta, professor of political science, Calcutta University, adds: "In the long run, TMC is going to reap political dividends because none of the national players, such as Lalu, Nitish, Mulayam and Mayawati, has the grit to take on Modi. She has larger designs behind taking up this issue, and touring states."

Of late, Mamata has had other bones to pick with the Modi government. On November 30, when her plane had to hover over Kolkata airport before landing, the Trinamool Congress dubbed it a "conspiracy to eliminate Mamata" for raising her voice against demonetisation. The party stalled Parliament. The next day, Mamata raised a furore over the army's presence in parts of Bengal, screaming "military coup".

BJP leader Samik Bhattacharya dismisses her latest manoeuvres as mere "desperation to oppose Modi", because, he says, the demonetisation move jeopardised her party's illegal cash pile acquired via the Saradha scam. But Mamata appears nowhere close to laying down her sword. Going by her words at a Kolkata rally on November 28, her task is cut out: "Today, I'm taking a pledge. Whether I die or live, I'll remove PM Modi from Indian politics."

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